Travellers arriving in Canada from Iran will be asked to self-isolate for two weeks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said the new measure is being imposed because new cases confirmed in Canada have been traced to travel in Iran, a pattern she called “very concerning.”
During a teleconference with reporters Monday, Tam said travellers arriving in Canada will be asked to tell officials at the airport whether they’re coming from Iran. Those coming from Iran will be asked to report any symptoms that may be linked to the virus, or to self-isolate for 14 days if they are asymptomatic.
The same protocol has been in place for travellers arriving from Hubei, China, which is the epicentre of the outbreak.
Tam said the new screening measures targeting travellers from Iran are based on a risk assessment which considers the rapidly increasing number of cases in Iran involving transmission through communities. She said she could not immediately say how many cases in Canada were traced to Iran.
But there is no plan at this point to impose any travel restrictions or bans, Tam said.
“Viruses know no borders and we have to balance our public health measures knowing that they are never completely perfect,” she said.
“There are downsides as well as effectiveness. I’ve always also said that as the number of countries increases, border measures are less effective and less feasible. So trying to focus on one country versus another can be much less reasonable as an approach, or effective.”
27 confirmed cases in Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the risk in Canada associated with COVID-19 remains low.
There are now 27 cases of COVID-19 in Canada. Ontario reported three new cases of the novel coronavirus Monday, bringing the total in the province to 18.
There are also eight confirmed cases in B.C. and one in Quebec.
Tam said federal officials are working with the provinces on measures to fight the spread of the virus, which could include advice to cancel public gatherings or close schools or workplaces.
She has encouraged Canadians to make arrangements to cope with a COVID-19 illness in the household, such as child care and supplies of food and medication.
“Canadians have time to be prepared and they should use that time and be essentially sensible about the whole thing,” she said. “There’s no need to go at it in a massive rush right now, but I think having some time for people to get prepared means that the suppliers will be able to cope with that requirement in an easier way.”
Heightened travel advisories
On Monday, Global Affairs Canada heightened travel advisories with three updates. GAC advises people to avoid non-essential travel to northern Italy, specifically the regions of Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige.
It also advises travellers to Japan to exercise a high degree of caution and cites the COVID-19 outbreak as further reason to avoid non-essential travel to Iran.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Bill Morneau plans to join a conference call with his G7 counterparts Tuesday to discuss the potential economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The conference is happening in the wake of an OECD report that calls the outbreak’s economic impact “severe” and warns that the global economy now faces its “biggest danger since the financial crisis.”
The 2008 financial crisis was considered the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau will be on a conference call with his G7 counterparts Tuesday to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the global economy. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
The OECD report said global economic growth was weak but stabilizing before the outbreak of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China.
“Restrictions on movement of people, goods and services, and containment measures such as factory closures have cut manufacturing and domestic demand sharply in China,” reads the report.
“The impact on the rest of the world through business travel and tourism, supply chains, commodities and lower confidence is growing.”
The OECD said stalled production, greater restrictions on the movement of people, goods and services and lower business and consumer confidence are all dragging down the economy.
Morneau’s spokeswoman Maéva Proteau said Canada’s economy continues to be resilient, despite evolving global and domestic challenges.
“We are closely monitoring economic developments related to the COVID-19 outbreak and other issues such as the rail blockades, including the impacts on businesses, tourism and the energy sector,” she said in an email statement.
“As the situation is still very dynamic, it is too early to say exactly what the economic impacts will be. Our government’s strong fiscal position means we continue to have all the necessary tools to respond in cases of continued fluctuations in the domestic and global markets. Minister Morneau is in regular discussions with our international partners on this matter.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
